Monday, January 18, 2010

An Old Command

“Dear friends, I am not writing to you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.” I John 2:7,8

This week my car would not start – again - which got me to thinking about a new car, or should I say a newer car. Yes, both of our vehicles are now 11 years old with well over 100,000 miles on each of them. Ah, a new car sounds so wonderful as I consider calling the tow truck once again. Just the word ‘new’ brings a sense of hope.

Yes, the 2010 models are now for sale, and not just in the automotive arena. There are new models for any and everything that can be purchased. We are a society driven by the mantra that the new is better than the old. This year’s gadgets are superior to last year’s gadgets. This year’s electronics are better than last year’s. This year’s styles of clothing are more needed than last year’s trends. It goes on and on and our economy is fueled by the creed that newer is better.

The Apostle John reminds us that when it comes to spiritual truth, virtuous living, and the society called the Kingdom of God, the old will do just fine. John will later reveal that the command he is speaking of is to love one another. That command, of course, was the theme of Jesus, and John hammered it home until his last days on earth.

John says that the command that needs to be followed is an old one. This old command comes from the Old Testament in which the Jews were taught to love God and to love one another. They were given rules on how to treat the foreigners and aliens of their day with love. They were quite familiar with the rule of love. It was also an old command because, as noted above, Jesus preached that theme as recorded in John chapter 13. Jesus taught that one of the greatest signs of His presence in our lives was love. Yet, it was a new command in that He taught not only to love God, and to love one another, but also to love one’s enemies. That certainly was a new command.

The command that John wrote of here is old, yet new. The command has been around forever; yet it is new each day. It is an old truth, but it becomes new in us each time we live it out in daily life. We may be looking for some new exciting truth to jump-start our spiritual lives in 2010. We might be looking to go on a retreat to hear some speaker or to start some new program that has promised the revitalization of our faith in the coming months. It seems the church is always looking for the next new thing.

Maybe we should take to heart the words of John here and go back to the old. Maybe we should start with something small like love. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “To love is to will the good of another”. Personally, I think that is a great place for me to start. To want the best for someone else no matter if they have wronged us in the past, that is love. That is both the Lord’s Prayer and the Golden Rule.

I have come to realize that to ‘love one another’ is actually a very hard thing to do. It’s a hard thing for me to do. To love in the way that Jesus told us we must was so hard that John had to remind the Christian community living within the same century that Christ spoke those words of how they should live.

The amazing thing is that down through the centuries of church history there have been those who truly believed the words of Jesus and that of John. The command to love was something they not only held to intellectually, but in spirit; which meant it must have come from the Spirit.

The persecution of Christians has been with the church in every century, including our own. There have been times along the way when the intensity of that persecution has risen to horrific heights. In the early third century it truly seemed as if Christianity would be wiped out due to the hatred in which Christians were hunted down. Yet, in the darkness of hatred and murder, the light continued to shine.

In Alexandria in 205 a young woman by the name of Potamiaena was tortured for her faith. A soldier by the name of Basilides was given the duty of torturing and executing her. Her sentence of death was to be dipped into a cauldron of boiling pitch. Finally, as he walked with her on the day of her execution, he protected her from the crazy mobs that wanted to inflict more pain on her. As they walked along, Potamiaena thanked Basilides for the kindness that he showed that day and told him that she would pray for him. This act of love so touched Basilides that several days after she died he also confessed Christ and was baptized. When his superiors asked him if the rumors were true that he had become a Christian he replied that he had, and they in turn cut off his head.

Yes, to love is an old command, but its results are new every day. To love is hard work; but then, so are most of the Lord’s commands, which is why He sent the Holy Spirit to help us.

Peace to you,

Dan Owens

Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries

Monday, January 4, 2010

Walking With God in 2010

“We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says ‘I know Him’ but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” I John 2:3-6

Yes, it’s time once again for New Year’s resolutions! I am working on mine as I sit here today, trying to decide between a few different ones. At the moment, the front-runner on my list is to become a vegetarian in 2010 and see how I fare. That could pose a problem in some of the far-away countries I go to, but I learned long ago that one could live off Cliff Bars for quite some time.

The Apostle John brings to our attention a resolution that we cannot pass over. It is one that should not, and cannot, be debated-- the resolution of obedience. John quickly informs his readers that one can easily distinguish between doctrinal and moral truth from error. He is building his case that mere intellectual knowledge is not the end-all when it comes to being a true follower of Christ. Knowing Jesus Christ must actually impact our behavior, our morality, and our charity.

Tiro Prosper was a disciple of St. Augustine in the early 5th century. He wrote prolifically; and like the Apostle John, much of his writing was against the heresies of his day. Prosper’s writings were also in letterform, like John’s, as he wrote to those holding heretical views. In one of his writings, or letters, Prosper commented on I John 1:6 and wrote, “Walk as He walked: does that not mean giving up the comforts He gave up, not being afraid of the kind of trials He bore, teaching what He taught, persevering in helping even those who show no appreciation, praying for one’s enemies, being kind to evil doers, serenely tolerating the proud?”

How easy it is to be ‘Christian’ without being Christ-like! How easy it is to believe certain truths without amending our behavior. How easy it is to have faith without following the actual commands of Christ. Even that word ‘commands’ sets us back a bit. We want heaven, we want God’s blessing, we want forgiveness of sin, but we don’t want to put out anything for it. And yes, it’s true; salvation is the free gift of God, but there are some requirements.

The Apostle John, one of the very ones who listened to Jesus non-stop for three years, says that security of salvation can be seen in many ways through our behavior. The true Christian is the one who ‘walks as Jesus did’ in every area of life. No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote, “…Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God”. Paul agrees with John in that every believer is responsible for his or her continual growth in holiness. We are created with a will, and with that will we can choose to keep the commands of Jesus or reject them; and this we do on a daily basis.

Many New Year’s resolutions will encompass the will. The will must be called upon to keep a resolution of reading the Bible every day in 2010. It will be called upon to keep steady attendance at the local gym. The will must be engaged to push away the sweets or second helpings while trying to get to the weight that God designed our frames to carry. Yes, the will must be engaged for resolutions. Therefore, let us exercise our wills in 2010 and purpose to do the things that Prosper wrote about. Let us give up some comforts, cast aside fear, help those who don’t even appreciate it, and love like Christ asked us to love.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Christian love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will”. Praise the Lord, we have the Holy Spirit of God residing in us to help us activate our will towards those things that bring about holiness. We are not left completely to our own initiative but we have Him helping to move our will forward towards Christian behavior.

We have no idea what the New Year will bring us, but we do know that God will test us and deepen us because He cares. He cares because we are in His family. He cares because He knows there must be a family resemblance for us to be in His family. He cares because He knows there are things more important than houses, cars, accounts, and stuff. I think St. Prosper hit the nail on the head; it really is time to ‘walk as Jesus did’!

Happy New Year!

Dan Owens

Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries